Reservoir Stuck In Water Wars

A north Georgia reservoir is filled with water after more than a decade of planning and construction.

Hickory Log Creek Reservoir in Canton was developed at a cost of nearly $100 million.

But the question of when the reservoir might open -- and how soon it might supply water for metro Atlanta -- remains difficult to answer.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that paperwork, bureaucracy, and the long-running water wars litigation involving Georgia, Alabama and Florida could stop the reservoir from opening.

The cost and the continuing delays have hit the north Georgia city of Canton and its water customers particularly hard. The city, which owns a 25 percent stake in the reservoir, pays about $1.7 million a year in operating and financing costs.